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Download a PDF file of the full piano score of this composition. This score may be printed and duplicated for the purposes of performances. However, please send a message to performances@gwynethwalker.com, notifying us of the date/location of the performance.
Download a PDF file of the trumpet parts (Bb and C) of this composition.
Footprints on the Sand is a suite of "short Journeys" for trumpet and piano. Each of these "excursions" is inspired by lines from the poem A Psalm of Life, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The poetic imagery is varied and beautiful.
Two of the movements ("Steps," "Leaps") reflect footprints. Perhaps one considers the special characteristics of the trumpet, with crisp, staccato articulation - well-suited to stepwise scales, or leaps of thirds.
Another movement speaks of the "Sands of Time" - We...leave behind us footprints on the sands of time. The opening, rapid piano patterns are marked as grains of sand slipping through the fingers. The trumpet lines are spacious, and timeless.
The final stanza of the poem suggests that perhaps our footprints, the markings of our lives, might enrich those who follow after us, and "Renew the Heart Again." Rising scales in the piano surround a gentle melody in trumpet. This is a renewal, a peaceful ascent.
Notes by the composer